Apparatus for packaging yarn



July 25, 1967 c. R. CABELLO 3,332,126

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING YARN Filed Aug. 4, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l N INVENTOR 1 CHARLES R. 04 BELLO ATTORNE Y July 25, 1967 c. R. CABELLO APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING YARN 4 Sheets 2 Aug vEN'ro (HA/e455 A. (148E440 TQRNE July 1967 c. R. CABELLO 3,332,126

APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING YARN Filed Aug. 4, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet S5 INVENTOR CHARLES R. CABELLO ATTORNEY July 25, 1967 c. R. CABELLO RATUS FOR PACKAGING YARN APPA Filed Aug. 4} 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,332,126 APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING YARN Charles R. Cabello, Wilmington, Del., assignor to Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co., Rockford, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 477,181 11 Claims. (CI. 28-21) This invention relates to apparatus for packaging yarn and more particularly to apparatus for forming a series of yarn loops and feeding the same onto a yarn package.

An object is to provide apparatus of the above type having novel and improved characteristics.

Another object is to provide improved means for forming a series of yarn loops and for feeding such loops onto a yarn package.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of the above type in which the loops are fed onto the package in an overlapped series in which each loop overlies the previously laid loop so that the yarn can be extracted therefrom without tangling.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The invention will be better understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which certain specific embodiments have been set forth for purposes of illustration.

1 In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus taken on line 11 of FIG. 2 with the base and the upper part of the standard broken away;

FIG. 2 is a plan section of the apparatus taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail plan view of a portion of the yarn feed mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detail view of the ball and mounting;

FIG. 7 is a partial vertical section similar to FIG. 1 illustrating a modification having a feed chute for the yarn ribbon;

FIG. 8 is a detail view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating a modified form of ball; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing the ball of FIG. 8.

Referring to the drawings more in detail the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 as embodied in an apparatus for packaging yarn 10 which is withdrawn from a cop (not shown) through a tube 11 which is mounted for rotation in a bracket 12 and is driven by suitable means such as a motor 13 by means of a belt .14. A cone or hell 15- is mounted on the tube 11 and is normally held in driving engagement with a collar 16 on the tube 11 by means of a spring 17 so that when the bell 15 is retracted from the collar 16 as by an accumulation of yarn within the bell, the rotation of the bell is interrupted.

A ball 21 of substantially spherical shape is mounted for rotation on a shaft 22 held in a bracket 23 and is driven by a narrow belt 24 which seats in a peripheral groove 25 in the surface of the ball 21 and located on one side of the diametric plane of the ball. The belt 24 is driven from a pulley 26 which is connected to be driven by a belt 27 by a motor, not shown.

The bell 15 extends over substantially one half of the surface of the ball 21 with its axis disposed at an angle to said diametric plane and carries an eye 28 through which the yarn 10 passes to be laid in successive loops 30 on the surface of the rotating ball as the bell 15 rotates. The loops 30 are thus disposed peripherally on the ball with their centers and the belt 24 disposed on opposite sides of the said diametric plane.

3,332,126 Patented July 25, 1967 As viewed in FIG. 1 the ball 21 rotates in a counterclockwise direction so that the loops 30 are fed upwardly with the surface of the ball and are stripped from the ball by the upper flight of the belt 24. The loops 30 thus form a ribbon 31 which rests on and is conveyed along by the belt 24 for a short distance after which it is drawn or drops from the belt onto fingers 41 at the trailing end 42 of a helical plate 43 having a leading end 44 spaced upwardly from the trailing end 42 to provide an opening 45 into which the loop ribbon 31 is drawn onto a slowly rotating yarn package 46. The ribbon of loops is thus laid in successive layers to form a helical winding around the axis of the package 46.

The package 46 is shown as carried on a rotating support disc 47 which is adapted to be retracted from the helical plate 43 and to maintain a predetermined compacting pressure on the yarn as the axial length of the package bulids up. The package can be removed by first removing the helical plate 43 and lifting the package from the rotating disc 47. A package support of this type is shown more in detail in the co-pending application of Russo et al., Ser. No. 213,629, filed July 31, 1962, now US. Patent No. 3,234,627.

The embodiment of FIG. 7 is similar to that above described with the addition of a chute 51 disposed to guide the ribbon 31 from the belt 24 onto the fingers 41 of the helical plate 43. The remaining parts have been given the same reference characters as the corresponding parts of FIGS. 1-6.

This embodiment may be preferred in cases where the package 46 is disposed at a greater distance from the belt 24 or if difficulty is encountered in feeding the ribbon from' the belt without outside support.

It will be noted that the ribbon 31 as described above is formed of loops 30 which are substantially symmetrical and are overlapped in a series in a substantially straight line. As this ribbon 31 is drawn into the circular form on the package, the inner periphery of the package will have relatively more yarn than its outer periphery. In order to reduce the quantity of yarn at the inner periphery a non-symmetrical ball 52 may be used as shown in FIGS. 8-9. The surface of the ball 52 tapers in axial section so that the loops 53 are non-symmetrical and have a shorter arc 54- on the side which is to be disposed at the inner periphery of the package.

It will be noted that in the above described apparatus successive loops 30 are laid in the ribbon 31 in overlapped shingled formation with each loop disposed entirely above the preceding loop as it is laid on the package. Hence the yarn can be readily extracted from the top of the package as each loop is withdrawn independently of the loop thereunder.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for forming a yarn package composed of a series of helically wound convolutions of a ribbon of loops with successive loops in the ribbon disposed in overlapped, shingled relationship, which comprises a ball mounted to rotate about a fixed axis, a narrow belt engaging the surface of said ball and driving the same, feed means disposed to lay a yarn in successive loops on a portion of the surface of said ball as the ball rotates with the loops extending across the belt, said belt having upper and lower flights and driving the ball in a direction such that said loops are stripped from the surface of the ball by the upper flight of said belt and are conveyed from the ball on said upper flight, as a ribbon of yarn loops, a yarn package disposed to receive said ribbon from said belt and guide means feeding said ribbon onto the top of said package in the form of helical winding in successive convolutions with the side of the ribbon which contacts the belt becoming the side which contacts the previous convolution of the package whereby each successive yarn loop lies entirely above the preceding yarn loop on the package.

2. Apparatus for packaging yarn as set forth in claim 1 in which the yarn feed means comprises a rotatable tube and a bell mounted on said tube and rotatable therewith, said bell spanning a portion of the periphery of said ball and having means feeding the yarn thereto in successive loops as the bell rotates.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which said bell is slidably mounted on said tube to be retracted in response to an accumulation of yarn therein and a releasable coupling means is provided for interrupting the rotation of said bell when so retracted.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said coupling means comprises a collar carried by said tube and said bell is spring pressed against said collar for causing said bell to rotate with said tube.

5. Apparatus for packaging yarn as set forth in claim 1 in which said yarn feed means is disposed to lay the yarn loops with their centers displaced from the diametric plane of the ball.

6. Apparatus for packaging yarn as set forth in claim 1 in which said belt is displaced to one side of the diametric plane of the ball.

7. Apparatus for packaging yarn as set forth in claim 1 in which said belt is displaced on one side of the diametric plane of the ball and the yarn feed means is so disposed that the centers of the yarn loops are displaced on the other side of said plane whereby the centers of the loops are olfset with respect to the center of the belt.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which a helical member is disposed over said package and is formed with vertically spaced leading and trailing ends forming an opening through which said ribbon of loops is fed onto said package.

9. Apparatus for packaging yarn as set forth in claim 1 inwhich a chute is disposed to guide said ribbon of loops from said belt onto said package.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said ball is non-symmetrical in shape with the loop forming portion on one side of its center having a smaller diameter than that on the other side of its center whereby the loops have a smaller are on said first side, said ribbon feed means being disposed to lay said ribbon on said package so that the sides of the loops having such smaller are are disposed at the inner periphery of said package.

11. Apparatus for forming a yarn package composed of a series of helically wound convolutions of a ribbon of loops with successive loops in the ribbon disposed in overlapped, shingled relationship, which comprises a ball mounted to rotate about a fixed axis, feed means disposed to lay a yarn in successive loops on a portion of the surface of said ball as the ball rotates, means stripping said loops from the surface of said ball as the ball rotates, a yarn package disposed to receive said ribbon from said stripping means and guide means feeding said ribbon onto said package in the form of a helical winding in successive convolutions with the side of the ribbon which contacts the surface of the ball becoming the side which contacts the previous convolution of the package, whereby the withdrawal of each yarn loop on the package is unobstructed by the succeeding loop. 

1. APPARATUS FOR FORMING A YARN PACKAGE COMPOSED OF A SERIES OF HELICALLY WOUND CONVOLUTIONS OF A RIBBON OF LOOPS WITH SUCCESSIVE LOOPS IN THE RIBBON DISPOSED IN OVERLAPPED, SHINGLED RELATIONSHIP, WHICH COMPRISES A BALL MOUNTED TO ROTATE ABOUT A FIXED AXIS, A NARROW BELT ENGAGING THE SURFACE OF SAID BALL AND DRIVING THE SAME, FEED MEANS DISPOSED TO LAY A YARN IN SUCCESSIVE LOOPS ON A PORTION OF THE SURFACE OF SAID BALL AS THE BALL ROTATES WITH THE LOOPS EXTENDING ACROSS THE BELT, SAID BELT HAVING UPPER AND LOWER FLIGHT AND DRIVING THE BALL IN A DIRECTION SUCH THAT SAID LOOPS ARE STRIPPED FROM THE SURFACE OF THE BALL BY THE UPPER FLIGHT OF SAID BELT AND ARE CONVEYED FROM THE BALL ON SAID UPPER FLIGHT, AS A RIBBON OF YARN LOOPS, A YARN PACKAGE DISPOSED TO RECEIVE SAID RIBBON FROM SAID BELT AND GUIDE MEANS FEEDING SAID RIBBON ONTO THE TOP OF SAID PACKAGE IN THE FORM OF HELICAL WINDING IN SUCCESSIVE CONVOLUTIONS WITH THE SIDE OF THE RIBBONS WHICH CONTACTS THE BELT BECOMING THE SIDE WHICH CONTACTS THE PREVIOUS CONVOLUTION OF THE PACKAGE WHEREBY EACH SUCCESSIVE YARN LOOP LIES ENTIRELY ABOVE THE PRECEDING YARN LOOP ON THE PACKAGE. 